Ecological modeling, biogeography, and phenotypic analyses setting the tiger cats' hyperdimensional niches reveal a new species.

ABSTRACT: Recently, the tiger-cat species complex was split into Leopardus tigrinus and Leopardus guttulus, along with other proposed schemes. We performed a detailed analysis integrating ecological modeling, biogeography, and phenotype of the four originally recognized subspecies-tigrinus, oncilla, pardinoides, guttulus-and presented a new multidimensional niche depiction of the species. Species distribution models used > 1400 records from museums and photographs, all checked for species accuracy. Morphological data were obtained from institutional/personal archives. Spotting patterns were established by integrating museum and photographic/camera-trap records. Principal component analysis showed three clearly distinct groups, with the Central American specimens (oncilla) clustering entirely within

SUBMITTER: de Oliveira TG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10825201 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature